Etrusci, Etruria, in: Brill's New Pauly. Antiquity, Volume V (Equ–Has), Leiden-Boston 2004.
I. History A. Name A people in Italy who, between the 9th and 1st cents. BC, created the highest form of civilization in the Western Mediterranean before Roman civilization prevailed over the same territory. Various popular names were applied to the E.: Rasna (or Graecized Rasenna) in Etruscan sources, Tyrrhenoi or Tyrsenoi in Greek sources, Turskus in Umbrian sources and Etrusci, Tusci or Lydii (according to Hdt. 1,94 because of their possible origin in Lydia) in Lat. sources. B. History of their influence and history of research The extraordinarily diverse resources of the region that they inhabited and the consequential leading role that they played in world trade, their high cultural level, their model character and the competence with which the Romans credited them in science and cult practices, the glory of being a 'very old people distinct from all others by virtue of their language and customs' (Dion. Hal. Ant. 1,30,2) are the main reasons for a form of myth developing around the E., even in antiquity. That myth resurfaced with Humanism and in the Renaissance, when the E. were cited in Tuscany and Latium - principally in Florence and Viterbo - as a model for social and moral renewal and were adopted into the political and cultural programs of a large number of princes (cf. the Medici family in Tuscany). The literary tradition of the E. was quoted (Liv., Pliny the Elder), but E. monuments were also highly esteemed (cf. Cosimo. I de' Medici and his art collection with the bronze statues 'Minerva', 'Chimaera', 'Arringatore'). Later research by the classical scholars of the 1 8th cent. (F.Buonarotti, A.F. Gori, S.Maffei, G.B. Passeri, M.Guarnacci) who took up E. culture should be seen in that perspective (i.a. inscriptions, language, religion, art). Between the 18th cent, and the first decades of the 19th, E. studies began to be put on a historical basis (L.Lanzi, G.Micali in Italy, K.O. Muller in Germany). Specialists in a great number of disciplines (art, religion, history, epigraphy, language, topography, natural history) studied the E. but did not go beyond their own field of research. Their research results, for all their quality, were thus unable to offer a comprehensive insight into the world of the E. In the transition from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary practice, modern Etruscology has developed as a science of its own. C. Sources Epigraphical-linguistic, historiographical-literary, archaeological, onomastic und toponomastic sources are available. Of these, archaeological sources, which are closely linked to the epigraphical, are the most abundant and the most informative. For that reason Etruscology is often regarded as an archaeological and not a historical discipline. Apart from problems inherent in some sources, we must also be clear about some factors that are a fundamental obstacle to the work of the Etruscologist: the complete destruction of the literary and historiographical output of the E. themselves and also of the classical literary works on the E. (such as the libri rerum Etruscarum of Verrius Flaccus or the Τυρρηνικα (Tyrrhenike) of Emperor Claudius), the infrequent and haphazard way in which ancient writers convey information about the E., the difficulties involved in understanding the Etruscan language, the fact that, until a few decades ago, too little attention was paid to their settlements during excavation, the occasional revival of imaginative hypotheses that, first advanced by scholars in the 15th-16th and 18th cents., are no longer tenable, and finally the large number of misleading dilettantic publications on the world of the E. D. Geographic Territory The region in which E. civilization developed is bounded in the north by the Arno basin up to the Tus- can-Emilian → Appenninus, in the south and east by the Tiber, and in the west by the mare Tyrrhenum. The E. first expanded from there in the 9th cent. BC, heading towards the areas around Salerno and Bologna (→ Bo- nonia 1). Numerous E. settlements from the 6th and 5th cents, have been found in the Po valley and in → Campania; but between the end of the 5th and the 4th cents, they were driven out by Gauls or → Samnites. According to E. evidence and later records, smaller E. communities were also found in various Italian regions among indigenous tribes (for example in Latium, Romagna, Liguria and Piedmont), as well as in several areas of the Mediterranean (Languedoc, Corsica, Carthage and Egypt). E. Origins The origin of the E. has been an issue debated over a long period, from antiquity onwards. Hellanicus (FGrH 4 F 3 in Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1,28,3) and Anticlides (FGrH 140 F 21 in Str. 5,2,4) thought the E. to be Pelasgians who had immigrated from the Aegean, Hdt. 1,94 had Lydian information according to which the E. came from Lydia, Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1,30 by contrast regarded them as autochthonous. In the 15th cent., Annio from Viterbo advanced the hypothesis, surviving until the 18th cent., that they originated in Israel. In the past 200 years, mainly on the basis of ancient sources claiming an E. identification with the Raeti (Liv. 5,33,1 1; Plin. HN 3,133; lust., Pomp. Trog. epit. 20,5,10; Steph. Byz. s.v. 'Poixoi) and by analogy with prehistoric Italian-E. cultures, it has been argued instead that the E. migrated from Central Europe. All these theories lose credibility because of the same fundamental prejudice: namely, that of assuming the E. people to have already been in existence, in Italy or outside it, even before their history had actually begun. Each of these theories comes up with historically established information that does not, however, contribute to a definitive solution to the problem because it has to be put in the context of (and compared with) the equally historically established results of other theories. It thus follows that the compelling conclusions of specific theories can only be of any real value if (taking up the suggestion by M. Pallottino) the question of origins is replaced by a question about evolution, as to how, for example, different ethnic and cultural communities merged and thus created a new people. This development might have taken place in the E. region between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age (between the 10th and the beginning of the 9th cents. BC). For in the middle decades of the 9th cent, the Villanova culture prevailed, lasting throughout the whole of the 8th cent, and representing the first hallmarks of E. civilization. At the same time, in various other regions of the Italian peninsula, those other peoples (Veneti, Picentes, Umbri, Sabini, Latini, Samnites, Dauni, etc.), were establishing themselves who, together with the E., were to leave their mark on Italian history in the 1st millennium BC. F. Beginnings The only evidence of the Villanova culture is archaeological in character. The population increase is remarkable. Because the building materials used were not very durable, we know almost nothing of the dwellings. The settlements - in some cases integrated into those of the late Bronze Age without any break in continuity, in others newly erected - are usually to be found on a site offering natural protection - as a rule, in southern E., on a plateau ringed by a river and, in northern E., on the summit of a hill. The form of settlement is a village of a few hundred to a couple of thousand inhabitants; some of these villages lying at most 1 to 2 km distant from one another belong to the settlement nucleus that in the course of a few centuries will be transformed into a metropolis. The dwelling is a hut in a circular or quasi-circular shape with walls and roofs made from wood or other perishable material (branches, twigs, hay, mud), with the interior consisting of a single room and a central fireplace. We know substantially more about the necropoleis: wide urn-fields with graves mostly of the tomba a pozzetto type (-» Funerary architecture) for the cremation rite or, also, from the 8th cent. BC, graves for a burial rite. In the first case the urn is a vase in double bowl or hut shape. The grave furnishings, less rich in the initial period, more so in the later period, contained objects indicating gender and social status: razor blades or weapons as grave furnishings for men, necklaces or sewing equipment for women. G. Natural resources and Economy The process of forming the E. people was already complete by the start of the Villanova period. That is convincingly demonstrated by the resources available to the inhabitants of E. E. was a fertile land 'offering everything imaginable' (Diod. Sic. 5,40,3), well suited to agriculture that had been carried out intensively from the 9th/8th cents. BC, thanks to the use of iron in tool-manufacture and to the introduction of the plough. Add to that the fact that large forests with tall trees offered very good wood (Str. 5,2,5), as well as the salt from salt mines (Volterra) and the saltworks along the Tyrrhenian coast. On top of that came the output from the mines in the Colline Metallifere on the island of Elba und in the Tolfa mountains (iron, copper, tin, zinc, lead), popular trading commodities (Plin. HN 33,1). No less important were other products like wool from sheep and goats, pork (one of the oldest E. representations: herdsman with pigs on the Plikasna situla from Clusium, middle of the 7th cent. BC) or tuna (cf. Str. 5,2,6-7: observation posts on heights along the coast at Populonia and Porto Ercole). H. 8th/7th Centuries In the course of the 8th cent., thanks to its natural resources and manufactures, E. belonged to a wide trading network: northern European, Sardinian, Phoenician and Euboean items have been found in the graves. The main items used in exchange for these imports were, then as later on, minerals and metals. It cannot be ruled out that activities and practices linked to those foreign products might have been imported with them. That is the case, for example with the Euboean geometrically decorated bowls that were probably imported with Euboean wine; and with the wine the relevant drinking practices would have been introduced as well, along with the rationale for these ceremonies. The development of which we are conscious here goes beyond the mere exchange of wares and is laden with cultural implications. People will also have migrated from the point of sale of these foreign products and organized the trade or manufacture on the spot of products similar to the imports. It was along with the economic and cultural flow of trade from Euboean territory that the Greek → alphabet reached E. The large trading networks expanded yet again in the 1st half of the 7th cent. From northern Europe via north Italy came → amber, from the eastern Mediterranean Corinthian and Ionian products were introduced from the Middle East: as well as the banqueting vessels there now came containers for perfume and ornamental objects. The materials from which these objects were fashioned were gold, silver and ivory, as well as fine ceramics. These imports fundamentally altered two facets of life: → banquets and → hygiene. Lifestyle became more luxurious, suggesting lasting wealth. The monumental tumulus tomb (in Vetulonia, in Mar- siliana d'Albegna), the creation of which points to gentilician social structure, is the visible expression of an aspiring aristocratic class. Even the manner of living changed: people switched from huts to houses with a rectangular plan and stone foundations, divided into several rooms. Once again, from the same sources as the foreign imports, craftsmen turned up in E. and produced locally the same objects as those being imported. Many imported containers were filled (perfumes, oils) and then earmarked for use at ceremonies (feasts, banquets) requiring a large supply of goods like oil and wine. Production of these items was begun in E. at the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 7th cent. BC, no doubt at the initiative of those specialized peasants who had streamed in from outside, attracted by the commercial demand of a rich, local clientele. The immigrant master craftsmen, however, must have contributed to artistic development, to sculpture (→ Sculpting, technique of) and painting. This phenomenon is alluded to in ancient literature (Plin. HN 35,16, 152). In this production artists turned to foreign styles, themes and iconographic patterns that were nevertheless adapted to the ideology of the local (aristocratic) communities. Various E. items, mostly in bronze, were exported to a number of regions in Central and northern Europe and indicate for us today the existence of far-reaching trade links that probably included consumer goods and raw materials but yet cannot be quantified or identified with any accuracy. It must in conclusion be stressed that E. was not uniformly affected by this process of renewal. Instead the process was more pronounced in the centres with high economic potential or with good overseas links, and within those centres more strongly evident amongst the representatives of the social groups in power. The increase in production of items destined for internal and external markets led to the development of an ever wider social layer of specialized artisans and small business proprietors, who all contributed to and benefited from the prosperity. A new - democratic - class began to infiltrate and displace the old aristocratic order, zealously striving to carve a clearly defined and decisive position for itself, even in politics. The city reflected the new social power-sharing - especially in new building projects undertaken no longer for individuals but for the whole community: e.g. straight-running roads, the creation of structures for political (squares) or religious (sanctuaries) gatherings, paving of public sites, the installation of sewerage systems and city walls, the development of necropoleis etc. The city thus became a political community and the nucleus of social order in E. Political, economic and military activities proceeded on the basis of individual cities, just as in the Greek poleis. In the last decades of the 7th and in the 1st half of the 6th cent., economic production in E. increased both in range and quality. Wine, oil and derivative products (perfumes, ointments) were exported on a large scale, principally to the western Mediterranean (Provence, Languedoc, the Iberian coast of Catalonia as far as Gibraltar, North Africa, Corsica, Sardinia, Campania and Sicily). I. 6th/5th Centuries The main suppliers of foreign goods in the 6th and in the first decades of the 5 th cent. BC were the Phocaeans, the Athenians and Aeginetans. The mare Tyrrhenum (Tyrrhenian Sea) was now the stage for large competing trade interests between the Phocaeans, E. and Carthaginians. The clash between E. and Carthaginians, on the one hand, and Phocaeans on the other in the sea battle at Alalia (→ Aleria) around 540 BC (Hdt. 1,1 66f.) led to a division of areas of influence (→ Corsica to the E., Sardinia to the Carthaginians and South Gaul and southern Italy to the Phocaeans), without there being any interruption in the commercial and cultural exchanges between E. and Greece. Furthermore, trade- goods and master craftsmen arrived in E. from Greece. Greeks built up businesses and developed artistic traditions of quality: for example the -» Caeretan hydriae in Caere, black-figured ceramics in Vulci, and frescoes in Tarquinia. After the battle of Alalia, as a consequence of which trade links with South Gaul became increasingly difficult, commercial traffic left E. for continental Europe over the Po Valley and exports included not only bronze vessels (part of the whole wine trade) but probably wine as well. The trading partners were Celtic nobles influenced by the E. in this way. In 509 BC the E. lost control over Rome and in 504 (battle of → Aricia), upper Latium as well. At the start of the 5th cent. BC their attempt to colonize the Lipari islands and the 'Happy Islands' failed (Diod. Sic. 5,20,4). In 474 BC they were defeated by the Syracu- sans in the naval battle at Cumae (→ Cyme), in 453 BC they were again defeated by the Syracusans to the north of their ore-mines (Elba, Populonia): a crisis then arose in the large southern coastal cities of Caere, Tarquinia and Vulci, while Populonia in the north, as the centre of a large mining region, possibly supported by Syracuse, gained in influence. The blockade of the southern harbours between the 2nd half of the 5th and the 4th cent. BC was followed by a drop in ceramic production, a large part of which was intended for E. markets. That led to the immigration of Attic masters into the Pontus region, southern Italy and into E. itself. This crisis affecting the coastal cities benefited the agriculturally oriented towns in the E. hinterland along the Tiber valley (Veii, Falerii, Volsinii, Clusium, Cortona, Arretium -cf. the wheat supplies to Rome in 492., 440, 433 and 411 BC, and the wine, oil and dried fruit exports from Clusium to Gaul in the first years of the 4th cent.: Liv. 5,33,1-6; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 13,10; Plut. Camillus 15, 3-4). In these cities there arose potters' workshops and sculpture schools influenced by the great Greek art of the Classical period (cf. the red-figured vases of Falerii, the temple sculptures in Falerii and Volsinii/Orvieto). The E. attempt (from Tarquinia?) to engage in naval power politics, with a modest contingent in the Athenian force besieging Syracuse in 41 3 BC, failed. The last blow dealt by the Syracusans against E. naval power was the plundering of the sanctuary and harbour at Pyrgi in 384 BC. Possibly linked to those events is the fact that in the coastal cities in the 2nd half of the 4th cent. BC there sprang up a new land-owning aristocracy that turned its attention to the hinterland, resettled the region of the cliff necropoleis (Tuscany, → Blera/Bieda, Norcia, -» Castel d'Asso, S. Giovenale, S. Giuliano, Sovana) and thus revitalized an area abandoned at the end of the 6th cent. BC. Evidence of this socio-economic trend is quite substantial, chamber graves decorated with frescoes in Vulci ('tomba Francois') and Tarquinia (e.g. tombe dell'Orco, degli Scudi), with stucco in Caere (tomba dei Rilievi) and Tarquinia (tomba delta Mercareccia). J. 4th/3rd Centuries and End In the early 4th cent. BC the Roman conquest of Veii (396 BC) at the end of a decades-long war meant the beginning of Roman penetration into E. Many cities built or rebuilt their city walls because of the imminent Roman threat. After the capture of Veii, Rome conquered the neighbouring cities of Capena and Falerii and established two Latin coloniae, Sutrium (383 BC) and Nepete (373 BC) in that territory. The conquest of Veii and the establishment of colonies introduced Rome's enduring presence in E. For its long-standing policy of friendship with Rome, Caere became civitas sine suffragio - after the Gallic siege throughout the 4 th cent. After the war with Rome ( 358-351 BC) Tarquinia negotiated a 40-year armistice that was renewed in 308. In 310 BC the Romans defeated the E., and in 283, the E. and the Gallic Boii at Lake Vadimonis. In 302 BC the aristocracy in Arretium received help from Rome against a slave uprising. In 294 BC Volsinii, Perusia and Arretium negotiated various armisticies with Rome. In 293 BC Rusellae was conquered by the consul L. Post- umius Megellus, and in 280 BC Vulci and Volsinii surrendered to the consul T. Coruncianus. In 273 BC the colonia -* Cosa was established in the territory of the Vulci, and in 264 BC Volsinii was destroyed by the consul M. Fulvius Flaccus and the inhabitants transferred to a new settlement (Volsinii Novi); the same fate befell Falerii in 241 BC. Meanwhile, instead of fighting, the E. were seeking to find a place for themselves in Roman life and politics. When a Roman expedition was being prepared to campaign against Hannibal in Africa, several E. cities (Caere, Populonia, Tarquinia, Volterra, Arretium, Perusia, Clusium and Rusellae) contributed provisions from their own produce (Liv. 28,45,14-18). In addition, many members of the E. lower orders enlisted in the Roman army, others from the higher levels pursued political careers in Rome without abandoning their links to their home-towns (cf. the → Caecinae from Volterra, the Tarquitii from Caere). The E. accepted the establishment of Roman coloniae in their homeland (Castrum Novum in 264 BC, Alsium in 247, Fregenae in 245, Pyrgi in 191, Saturnia in 183, Gravisca in 181 ), as well as the construction of major roads (cf. the viae Auretia, Clodia, Cassia, Flaminia, Amerind) that helped deployment of Roman troops, even when they partly followed existing E. roads. Colonies and roads are clear elements of Romanization. The statue of the 'Arringatore (Orator)' (2nd cent. BC, Florence, MA) is the expression of this new state of affairs: the clothing, the footgear and the descriptive, portrait-like execution indicate the opening-up to the Roman world, while the E. inscription on the edges of the toga demonstrate its E. cultural origins. In the 3rd/2nd cents. Rome and E. followed the same cultural trends: take for example the Greek myths from the Trojan and Theban cycles, which belong as much to the repertoire of archaic Latin tragedy as to the decoration on E. ossuaries. With the end of the Social Wars and the lex lulia de civitate (90-88 BC) the residents of Italia antiqua, and thus the E. as well, gained the civitas Romana. That officially put an end to regional Italian cultures, and the new unitary Roman State was established, with Latin as the official language. The divine cults of the E. were only of historic-cultural significance in the 1st cent. BC and in the Imperial period: some tomb inscriptions were bilingual, using Latin and E., documents with E. religious teaching were translated into Latin; Verrius Flaccus and the Emperor Claudius composed works on the E.; Roman art collectors gathered Tyrrhena sigilla (Hor. Epist. 2,2,180-183); there were attempts to have young patricians adopt the Etrusca disciplina, so as to avoid having this art practised by incompetent people just for the sake of money (Cic. Div. 1,92); on special occasions haruspices of E. origin were consulted - even into the 6th cent. AD (Procop. Goth. 8,21,16). L. Banti, II mondo degli Etruschi, 21969 (Engl, tr.: Etruscan Cities and their Culture, 1973); J. Heurgon, La vie quotidienne chez les Etrusques, 21979; M. Torelli, Storia degli Etruschi, 1981; M. Cristofani (ed.), Gli Etruschi. Una nuova immagine, 1984 (Die Etrusker 21995); Id. (ed.), Civilta degli Etruschi, 1985; A. Maggiani (ed.), Artigianato artistico in Etruria, 1985; G.Camporeale (ed.), L'Etruria mineraria, 1985; G.Colonna (ed.), San- tuari d'Etruria, 1985; S. Stopponi (ed.), Case e palazzi d'Etruria, 1985; A.Carandini (ed.), La romanizzazione dell'Etruria: il territoriodi Vulci, 1985; P. Barocchi (ed.), L'Accademia etrusca, 1985; F. Borsi (ed.), Fortuna degli Etruschi, 1985; G.Pugliese Carratelli (ed.), Rasenna, 1986; M.Pallottino, Etruskologie, 71988; Id. (ed.), Gli Etruschi e I'Europa, 1992. CLC Maps: Die Etrusker und Europa, exhibition cat. Berlin, 1993; M. Cristofani (ed.). Die Etrusker, 1995; F. Prayon, Die Etrusker, 1996; K.v. Welck, R. Stupperich (ed.), Italien vor den Romern, 1996. II. Archaeology A. Definition E. archaeology covers the entire E. legacy, including linguistic evidence and the literary transmission by the Greeks and Romans 40. Research is traditionally based on the interpretation of monuments. While E. studies (etruscologia) in Italy have a tradition extending back to the Renaissance and represent a discipline encompassing all aspects of E. culture 38, outside Italy it is a subdivision of separate subjects such as Classical archaeology, Pre- and Proto-History, Ancient History, Classical philology and Comparative Linguistics. The chronological framework for E. archaeology extends from the final phase of the Bronze Age (proto-Villanova 1 ith/ioth cents. BC) up to the end of the Romanization of Etruria in the early 1st cent. BC. The division into different cultural and artistic periods generally follows the Greek terminology (Archaic, Classical, Hellenism), however in Etruria the → Villanova culture 2 corresponds to the geometric period (9th/8th cents.), and the archaic period lingers on into the 5th cent. BC ('subarchaic style'). Geographically, E. archaeology encompasses the E. heartland between the Arno and the Tiber, as well as the colonized territories of the Po valley (Mantua) and Campania (Capua) and the adjacent regions of Italic tribes who were culturally partly Etruscanized (especially Latium), including early Rome 46. Like Greek archaeology, E. archaeology distinguishes between individual city states and the cultural achievements of each region (e.g. Tarquinia: tomb paintings, Vulci: toreutics 1), in that, apart from rich tomb finds, the latter increasingly involve sanctuaries and residential settlements 47. In contrast to older, Graeco- centric research, what is now of primary interest is specifically E., both in its own evolution and as an integral component of the multicultural world of the Mediterranean 42; 53. B. Cultural/general In keeping with the definition of E. archaeology as a field of cultural knowledge, all subjects are included, from geology, geography and topography 49 through to economics and trade 68-99, internal and external history 15-76; 56, state, society and family 100-135; 30; 45-80-156; 52, as well as religion and culture, the study of which, on the basis of the extensive, written (disciplina Etrusca, → Divination VII) and archaeological transmission (→ Haruspices: bronze liver from Piacenza 54), assumes a particularly important role 136-167; 34; 41; 45. 159-237. C. Art 1. Architecture Determining factors for E. culture and art were, on the one hand, the favourable climatic and geographic conditions that promoted agriculture and trade (with coastal metropoles like Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Vulci) and, on the other, the geological advantages offered by the rich mineral deposits and their exploitation 68- 87; 22 in the surrounding areas (Populonia, Vetulo- nia), the Monti Metalliferi (Volterra, Massa Marittima) and the Tolfa mountains (Monte Rovello, Castellina del Marangone). Also decisive for creative activity were the volcanic formations in southern Etruria, in so far as the softer tufa stone and the harder nenfro and limestone were to determine the figurative forms in → sculpture 48. The location of settlements established, mainly for reasons of fortification, on rounded mountain peaks, can be deduced from the extensive necropoleis, and frequently also, in cases of continuity of settlement, from the remains of surrounding walls and city gates (Volterra, Perugia). Features of urbanization and infrastructure (roads, drainage, cisterns) 45. 371-530; 55, as well as the development of residential architecture from modest beginnings to multi-storied apartment blocks, insulae, are known to us through large-scale excavations (especially at S. Giovenale, Acquarossa, Marza- botto) and replicas in tombs (see below) 49. The development of residential architecture follows similar patterns to those in Greece (oval houses, langraum, and breitraum houses), but the preference for axial and symmetrical room layouts, together with a concern for comfort led to significant original innovations such as the atrium house 43; 46. The necropoleis have been particularly well excavated, with their chamber graves imitating the interior of a domestic dwelling; in northern Etruria these graves are constructed from stone blocks, while in the south, hypogean forms chiselled in the tufa rock predominate 49. Despite regional variations the round tumulus grave over a shaped base and earth mound, with an entrance (dromos), cross-shaped outline layout and homelike interior (especially Cerveteri) can be termed the common evolutionary trend for the early period (7th/6th cents. BC). In the 6th/5th cents., flat tomb facades predominate (the 'cube-' and 'aedicula grave' types: Cerveteri, Blera, Populonia), with the exterior and the internal divisions clearly based on the contemporary dwelling. From the 4th/3rd cents, facade tombs predominate, often with elements of temple architecture (Sovana: Tomba Ildebranda, Norchia: gable graves) 37, along with rich, genteel graves imitating the internal division with an atrium (Cerveteri: Tomba dei Rilievi; Perugia: grave of the Volumni) 49; → Funerary architecture. Sacral architecture is much more varied than the typical temple style known since Vitruvius (4,7) as 'Tuscan', with its rear cellae, deep colonnaded entrance hall and wooden, stucco-decorated roof (examples: Veio, Portonaccio and Pyrgi, Temple A). To that must be added Greek-influenced building forms like the temple with circular central hall and only one cella (Pyrgi, Temple B) or, from the early 6th cent. BC, monumental court complexes (Murlo; Cerveteri, Montetosto), and buildings with aisles (Acquarossa) with sacral or public function. As in the residential dwelling, the tomb and → temple, the paratactical, tripartite room arrangement is characteristic 47. The temple pediments in the early period are 'open'; only the front beam having relief decoration in clay (antepagment of Pyrgi with fig. 1 79-1 81; 'closed' pediment reliefs with Greek myths appear only in the Hellenistic period: → Telamon 24); also typically E.-Italian is the arrangement of clay statues of gods on the ridge of temple roofs (Murlo, Veio, Satricum 17). Striking as an individual design is the 'Tuscan' -» column with capital (abacus, torus, leaf garland), smooth shaft and the base with a shaped bulge (Vitru- vius 4,7). The Tuscan column, derived from the proto- Doric wooden capital in Greece and known from the beginning of the 6th cent. BC in temples, tombs and houses had, moreover, a form-shaping influence on funerary architecture (tumuli and cube-tombs) and altars 44. As excavations in harbour sanctuaries like Pyrgi and Gravisca show, temples and altars were an element of extensive complexes with a large number of sacral and profane buildings as well as sacrificial and drainage ditches for votive offerings and discarded building decorations 17. The variety of deities worshipped in a single sanctuary is remarkable, including Greek and Semitic deities, like Uni-Astarte, as well as E. deities 36 in Pyrgi. 2. Sculpture In contrast to the situation in Greece and Rome, marble was used only rarely; what was used predominantly was clay (sacral areas) and stone (funerary areas), as well as bronze as votive sculpture for memorials like the 'Arringatore (Orator)' in Florence 18. Thus, in 264 BC, after the capture of Volsinii/Orvieto, 2,000 statues were pillaged and transported to Rome (Plin. HN 34,34). In tomb-sculpture (with 'images' of the deceased) extending back to the 7th cent. BC, indigenous Villanova traditions (head and canopic urns) can be seen along with Oriental influences ('Oriental phase': seated portraits in Ceri and Cerveteri 10) and, from the 6th cent., strongly Greek stylistic elements (Vetulonia, Pietrera; Vulci), also discernible in temple and votive sculpture that began in the 6th cent. BC and continued until ending in the 2nd/ist cents. BC 47; 48. A specifically E. feature is the special emphasis given to the head, through its size or the exaggeration of individual features in comparison to the rather sketchy reproduction of the body (Apollo of Veio with fig. 1 1 8-1 19), preservation of archaic stylistic forms, also termed 'sub-archaic style' (antepagment of Pyrgi), and from the 4th cent. BC the juxtaposition of naturalistic ('Apollo' of Falerii; urn of a couple in Volterra with fig. 240-241, 286-287) and abstract stylistic elements disregarding bodily proportions, like the overlong bronze statue of the 'Ombra della Sera' in Volterra 638-676. The E. did not strive for individual portraits, as in Roman art of the Imperial period 26. Along with free-standing sculpture, relief art was very highly developed, with a large number of local traditions, as in the archaic limestone reliefs, each having funerary origins, in Chiusi 32 and the Hellenistic sar- cophagic and urn-reliefs from Tarquinia (nenfro), Volterra (alabaster), Chiusi (limestone) or Siena (clay), whose mythical iconographic themes are not only very relevant to the reconstruction of Greek mythological motifs but are also a source of information on technical questions (workshops), as well as for social and political information 36. 3. Tomb paintings Etruria is host to the most significant → grave paintings in the Mediterranean from the 1st millennium BC: thanks to the geologically advantageous qualities of the volcanic tufa rock and the concern for richly decorated chamber graves, local centres for grave painting established themselves,especially from the 6th cent. BC, in Tarquinia, Chiusi and Orvieto (with precursors in Cerveteri and Veio). The principal themes in Tarquinia were originally aspects of the funeral rites (Tomba degli Auguri with fig. 13-22) and the funeral wake (Tomba dei Leopardi with fig. 105), and then, from the 4th cent. BC, representations of the afterlife (Tomba dell'Orco with fig. 127-134) and funeral processions, often with the participants and the deceased mentioned by name. The Tomba Francois in Vulci (4th cent. BC) is an important case in point, with the duels of historical figures of the 6th cent. BC, including the Aulus brothers and Gaius Vibenna from Vulci, as well as Mastarn identical to King Servius Tullius from Rome 51. The wall paintings reflect the dominant style of Greek vase-painting of the time, initially Corinthian, Ionian and Attic, and in the Hellenistic period, southern Italian in particular. Grave paintings are of central importance for onomastics, representations of the afterlife, and funeral customs, as well as for details such as dress 5, decoration and utensils, but going well beyond all that, by virtue of the thematic, iconographic and stylistic proximity to Greek pictorial motifs, also for our knowledge of Greek wall paintings, which have been largely destroyed. F. Pr. 4. Burial offerings In E. thinking, observance of funeral riteswas of central importance for the deceased's well-being in the afterlifeand, as well as in costly funerary architecture, this was also reflected in the burial offerings. From the beginning of the 9th to the middle of the 8th cent, only personal objects were buried with the deceased's ashes in the -» Villanova culture urns: almost all graves belonged to the same social class. Amongst the burial offerings were also libation vessels, which were broken after being used in the burial ritual. From as early as c. 750 BC members of the aristocracy were buried in their own graves, which, in addition to personal possessions, contained metal objectsindicating the dead person's social rank (e.g. shields of thin brass, water canteens and horse-bits of bronze). In the so-called Oriental phase (end of the 8th - 7th cents. BC) the propensity to highlight the social status of the person buried gained in importance. In the chamber tombs under monumental tumuli imported articles from the eastern Mediterranean (Syria, Palestine, Cyprus) were found as status symbols: La. gold jewellery, ostrich egg shells, carved ivory, vases of precious metals. The phenomenon of 'princely graves' continued until about the middle of the 6th cent. BC, a time when there was much change in E. necropoleis. As in Greece, new social classes had developed in the cities and in the process the previously prevailing clear distinction began to converge in both -+ funerary architecture and in grave offerings. Greek pottery was especially popular; around 550 the importation of Corinthian pottery was replaced with Attic. In the 3rd and 4th cents, graves were again furnished with expensive drinking and dining equipment, mostly of indigenous manufacture. These vases reproduce standardized forms. a.na. 5. Ceramics, Minor arts, Toreutics From the modest, dark brown → impasto ware of the Villanova period arose → bucchero pottery in the 7th cent. BC, distinguished by the quality of its black clay, the elegance of vessel shapes and its incised and relief decoration. In general, painted Greek ceramics had been imported in large quantities since the 8th cent. BC (especially from Corinth and Athens) and had been imitated in Etruria, in part by Greeks themselves (7th cent.: the potter and painter Aristonothus; 6th cent.: style of the → 'Caeretan hydriae'), but mostly by locals at a rather low level artistically (e.g. Italo-geometric, Italo-Corinthian, E.-black-figured) 35. Individual styles, like the so-called → Pontic vases, boast particularly original graphic motifs and are important testimony to the fact that Greek myths were known in Etruria 33 In the minor arts it was not unusual for the E. to outdo their instructors, Phoenicians and Greeks in particular: carved → ivory, gold jewellery in the highly developed techniques of granulation and filigree, as well as gems and cameos 14; 57. E. → toreutics were also of prime quality, especially in Vulci, with bronze wagons decorated in relief 30, bronze vessels and utensils (tripods, candelabra), frequently decorated with figurative statuettes as grip or lid 27, as well as the type of → mirrors decorated with mythical themes etched or in relief 22. From the 5th cent. BC bronzes were an important export item for Italy and the region north of the Alps (beaked pitchers with figurative handles 15). The metal caskets known as → cists, the iconography of which is very informative about everyday life and Greek myths, mark the final phase of E. toreutics. However, the focal point of production shifted to Latium (see Ficoroni cist 20), and Etruscan artistic creativity is absorbed by Roman-dominated Hellenistic-Italic art. Minting of coins took place independently of Lower Italy and Rome, with the main centresin northern Etruria (Populonia, Volterra) 8. D. Reception/Antiquity Apart from their role as upholders of culture for the neighbouring Italian tribes, the E. took part indirectly in the development of Celtic toreutics, through the export into the region north of the Alps of bronze vessels with figurative ornamentation, and of imitations and perhaps also as the transmitters of Mediterranean construction technique (Heuneburg: clay brick wall) 16. The German runic script was derived from the E. alphabet via intermediate points in the Alps 411- 441. In the archaic period the effect on Rome was preponderant: in robes of office, and symbols of power (purple toga, lituus, sella curulis), in urbanization and construction techniques (Tuscan temple; atrium house), in the plastic arts (Zeus cult image in the Jupiter temple, Lupa?), perhaps also in onomastics 37. From the early Roman Republic, E. influence dropped off sharply but remained firm in memory (Posidonius,Vitruvius) or, because of its origin, was described as 'Tuscan', like the three-cell temple that was the building model for the Capitolia and its capitals or the → atrium with its unsupported roof. For the revival of E. culture since the Renaissance see → Etruscology. → Acquarossa; → Blera/Bieda; → Caere; → Castellina del Marangone; → Ivory carvings; → Falerii; → Graviscae; → Marzabotto; → Murlo, Norchia; → Perusia; → Populonia; → Pyrgi; → Saena; → Satricum; → So- vana; → Tarquinii; → Veii; → Volaterrae; → Volsinii; → Etruscology 1 L. Banti, Die Welt der Etrusker, 1960 2 G.Bartoloni, La cultura villanoviana, 1989 3 H. Blanck, G.Proietti, La Tomba dei Rilievi di Cerveteri, 1986 4 A. Boethius, J. B. Ward-Perkins, Etruscan and Roman Architecture, 1970, 15-95 5 L. Bonfante, Etruscan Dress, 1975 6 Id. (ed.), Etruscan Life and Afterlife, 1986 7 S. Stopponi (ed.), Case e palazzi d'Etruria, Exhibition catalogue Siena,1985 8 F. Catalli,Monete etrusche, 1990 9 G. Colonna, II posto dell'Arringatore nell'arte etrusca di eta ellenistica, in: SE 56, 1989/90, 99-119 10 Id., F. W. von Hase, Alle origini della statuaria etrusca: La Tomba delle Statue presso Ceri, in: SE 52, 1984, 13-59 11 M.Cristofani (ed.), Die Etrusker, 21995 12 Id. (ed.), Dizionario della civilti etrusca, 1985 13 Id., I bronzi degli Etruschi, 1985 14 M.Cristofani, M.Mar- telli, L'oro degli Etruschi 15 L. Aigner-Foresti (ed.), Etrusker nordl. von Etrurien, Symposium Wien, 1992 16 Die Etrusker und Europa, exhibition catalogue Berlin, 1991 17 E. Rystedt et al. (ed.), Deliciae Fictiles. Proc. of the First International Conference on Central Italic Architectural Terracottas, 1993 18 T. Dohrn, Der Arringatore, 1968 19 Id., Die etr. Kunst im Zeitalter der griech. Klassik, 1982 20 Id., Die Ficoronische Ciste, 1972 21 Enea nel Lazio, Exhibition catalogue Rome, 1981 22 G.Camporeale (ed.), L'Etruria mineraria, Exhibition catalogue Portoferraioetal., 1985 23 U.Fischer-Graf, Spiegelwerkstatten in Vulci, 1 980 24 B. v. Freytag gen. Loringhoff, Das Giebelrelief von Telamon, 1986 25 Die Gottin von Pyrgi, (Colloquium Tubingen, 1981 26 G. Hafner, Manner- und Frauenbildnisse aus Terrakotta im Museo Etrusco Gregoriano, in MDAI® 73/74, 1966/67, 29-51 27 R. Herbig, Die jiingeretr. Steinsar- kophage, 1952 28 S. Haynes, Etruscan Bronzes, 1985 29H.Hencken, Tarquinia and Etruscan Origins, 1968 30 J.Heurgon, Die Etrusker, 1972 31 U.Hock.mann, Die Bronzen aus dem Fiirstengrab von Castel S. Mariano, 1982 32 J.-R. Jannot, Les reliefs archaiques de Chiusi, 1984 33 I. Krauskopf, Der thebanische Sagenkreis und andere griech. Sagen in der etr. Kunst,1974 34 Id., Todesdamonen und Totengotter im vorhell. Etrurien, 1987 35 M. Martelli (ed.), La ceramica degli Etruschi, 1 987 36 F.-H. Massa-Pairault, Recherches sur Part et l'artisanat etrusco-italiques a I'epoque hellenistique, 1985 37 J. P. Oleson, The Sources of Innovation in Later Etruscan Tomb Design, 1981 38 M.Pallottino, Etrusko- logie/1988 39 Id., It. vor der Romerzeit, 1987 40A.J. Pfiffig, Einfiihrung in die Etruskologie, 1972 41 Id., Religio etrusca, 1975 42 F. Prayon, DieEtrusker. Gesch., Religion, Kunst, 1996 43 Id., Friihetr. Grabund Hausarchitektur, 1975 44 Id., Zur Genese der tuskani- schen Saule, in: Vitruv-Kolloquium, 1984, 141-162 45 G.Pugliese Carratelli (ed.), Rasenna. Storia e civilta degli Etruschi, 1986 46 M. Cristofani (ed.), La grande Roma dei Tarquini, Exhibition catalogue Rome, 1990 47 G.Colonna (ed.), Santuari d'Etruria, Exhibition catalogue Arezzo, 1985 48 M.Sprencer,G.Bar- toloni, Die Etrusker. Kunst und Gesch., 1977 49 S.Steingraber, Etrurien, 1981 sold, (ed.), Etr. Wandmalerei, 1985 51 F. Buranelli (ed.), La Tomba Francois di Vulci, Exhibition catalogue Rome, 1987 52 M.Torelli, Die Etrusker, Gesch., Kultur, Gesell- schaft, 1988 53 O.W. v. Vacano, Die Etrusker in der Welt der Ant., 1 9 5 7 54 L. B. Van der Meer, The Bronze Liver of Piacenza, 1987 55 J.B. Ward-Perkins, Etruscan Energeering. in: Hommages ä A. Grenier, 1962, 1636—1643 56 K. W. Weeber. Gesch. der Etrusker. 1979 57 P. Zazoff, Die am. Gemmen, 1983, 214-259. F. PK. Burial offerings: B. d'Agostino, Tombe 'principe- sche' dell'orientalizante antico daPontecagnano, in: Monumenti Antichi dell'Accademia dei Lincei, s. Miscellanea, vol. II. 1, 1977; G.Colonna, L'ideologia funeraria e il conflitto delle culture, in: Archeologia laziale 4 (Qua- derni di Archeologia Etrusco-Italica 5), 1981, 229-232; M.A. Cuozzo, Prospenive teoriche e metodologiche nell'interpretazione delle necropoli: la post-processual archaeology, in: Annali. Istituto orientale di Napoli, n.s. 3, 1996, 1-37; G.Pianu, La standardizzazione, in: M. Cristofani (ed.), Civilta degli Etruschi, 1985, 316-338. ANA. Maps: M. Cristofani, Economia e societa, in: G.Pugliese Caratelli (ed.), Rasenna, Storia e civilta degli Etruschi, 1986, 79-1 56 (with p. 110 fig. 9, p. 116 fig. 11); Die Welt der Etrusker, exhibition catalogue Berlin, 1988; Die Etrusker und Europa, exhibition catalogue Berlin, 1993; F.-W. v. Hase, II bucchero etrusco a Cartagine, in: M. Bonghi Jovino (ed.), Produzione artigianale ed esportazione nel mondo antico il bucchero etrusco, 1993, 187-194, especially 188; Id., Agaische, griech. und vor- deroriental. F.influsse auf das tyrrhenische Mittelitalien, in: JRGZ 35, 1995, 239-186; W.Kimmig, Die griech. Kolonisation im westl. Mittelmeergebiet und ihre Wir- kung auf die I.andschaften des westl. Mitteleuropa, in: JRGZ 30, 1983, 7-78, especially 39, 41; M.Miller, Befestigungsanlagen in It. vom 8. bis 3. Jh. v. Chr., 1994; F. Prayon, die Etrusker, 1996; K. v. Welck, R.Stuppe- rich (ed.), Italien vor den Romcrn, 1996. F. PR. III. Religion A. Introduction In antiquity the E. were regarded as a people who were very serious and especially meticuluous in their religious observance (Liv. 5,1,6). The particular connection with the transcendental was expressed, on the onehand, in their never abandoned mystical interpretation of natural phenomena (Sen. Q Nat. 2,3 2,1 ), and on the other, in the very large number of temples, grave sites and votive offerings. Differences in the concepts of → afterlife, burial and cremation can be assigned to regional variation. Secondary sources offer a one-sided view of E. religion: texts of prophecy that had political significance for Rome (→ Divination VII.) and were observed by the E. upper class (Tac. Ann. 11,15,1) have survived. We are, on the other hand, ill-informed about popular religion. B. Gods and Mythology According to the legendary account, the E. received their doctrine from the gods (Cic. Har. resp. 10,20) or from the wise child Tages (Cic. Div. 2,23,50) and the nymph Vegoia (Serv. Aen. 6,72,5). As a revelatory and recorded religion it is typologically closer to the Ancient Oriental rather than Greek or Roman religion. Over time the E. religion underwent an inner evolution that cannot be reconstructed in detail, and it also adopted foreign (Greek and Oriental) beliefs. E. prophecy and cosmogony have significant parallels in the Ancient Orient; likewise, motifs of Oriental origin appear in the calendar of → Nigidius Figulus on meteorological omens. Gods of Greek origin, like Apollo, are known from the 6th cent. BC; the E. name Ap(u)lu (< Apollo in the Latin form) is attested in the 1st half of the 5th cent. 2. Tinia, Turan, Σeθlans, Culsans, Turms etc. are of more obscure origin but probably belong to the oldest core of Etruscan religion going back to the 2nd millennium. In an early phase of E. religiosity, Nature was considered to have a soul: veneration of conically-shaped stones is iconographically attested in the 5th and 3rd cents. BC in Tarquinia (tomb 'del letto funebre', around 460 no. 82) ) and Volterra (urn reliefs [6. pi.LII, 15). From archaic, aniconic, levels of E. religiosity derive non-corporeal entities whose gender and number are varied and uncertain. Their names are unknown, their Latin terms dei superiores et involuti (Sen. Q Nat. 2,41,2), dei consentes (Arnob. 3,40) or complices (Arnob. ibid.) do not cast any light on their nature. They were hierarchically superior to the high god Tinia (Sen. Q Nat. 2,45,3), who had to obtain their approval before casting dangerous or destructive lightning bolts (Sen. Q Nat. 2,41,1-2). Uni and Men(e)rva, Maris and Neθuns go back to the 10th cent, as individualized deities of common Italian origin 3. In the following two cents, clearly developed gods emerge from that original, not very individualized world of deities. In the 7th cent, the E. pantheon had gods who supervised Nature and its phenomena, the fundamental events in human life and human activities: heaven (Tinia) and Nature (Fufluns, Turan), birth (ϴalna) and death (Vanθ, Culsans), war (Laran), and crafts (Seθlans) etc. Altogether 38 names of gods have been noted just on the model liver of Piacenza (3rd cent., ET Pa4.2). Under the influence of Greek religion, E. gods were represented anthropomorphologically from the 6th cent.; similarly, Greek views of deities were integrated, either with a change in character while name and appearance were preserved (around 530 Apulu was a demon of death and like Artumes < Artemis a god of fertility 2) or with a correlation with functionally similar E. deities: thus Tinia with Zeus/Jupiter, Uni with Hera/Juno, Fufluns with Dionysus/Bacchus, Σeθlans with Hephaestus/Vulcanus, Turms with Hermes/Mer- curius, NeOuns with Poseidon/Neptune and Turan with Aphrodite/Venus. It was not uncommon for independent E. beliefs to merge with Greek myths: Menerva, who was close to Athena, was a lightning-throwing goddess (ES III 153) 7. In the obscurity of the early period a many-faceted young spirit of the earth, Vol- tumna, was said to hold sway as the principal E. deity (Varro, Ling. 5,46) and was venerated in Volsinii (Prop. 4,2,3); he was later identified with Tinia. Only after Tinia's identification (by the priesthood ?) with the functionally similar Zeus (ETTa 3.2) in the 6th cent. BC did a schism take place with the original Voltumna- Tinia and this was also reflected in the iconography; from the 5th cent. Tinia was held to be similar to Zeus. In Seneca's later description (Q Nat. 2,45,1-3) Tinia was accorded the attributes of the most senior deity, with power over gods and men. Whether or not there was an original E. mythology can be answered,cautiously, in the affirmative, by virtue of the representations of animal beings and demon wolves pi. x 5; 6. Greek myths were adopted from the 8th-7th cents. BC but their representation on vases was initially only incidental decoration and did not at that stage imply that the foreign religion had been adopted; the iconography of Greek myths was transformed by the addition of E. deities (Hercle and Menerva, ES II 153) 7. It is in the area between legend and myth that we find the grey youth Tages (see above), who revealed himself in Tarquinia to a farmer called Tarchon (Lyd. De ostentibus 4,20) and was said to have handed over to him the holy precepts of the Etrusca disciplina. The legend developed in Tarquinia, the normative character of the Etrusca disciplina can be attributed to a priesthood that, in a period that we cannot more precisely determine, was seeking to anchor in myth, and thus consolidate, its primary role for maintaining the Etrusca disciplina. Another mythical figure is the monstrous Olta, who was said to have destroyed the fields of Volsinii before being struck by lightning summoned by King Porsenna (Plin. HN 2,54,140). Vegoia's 'prophecy' (Gromatici veteres 350,17-351, 11 Lachmann) contains references to an Etruscan cosmogony, a fairly long fragment of which was reproduced by the Suda (s.v. τυρρηνία χώρα); it was elaborated in the style of Sumerian-Babylonian literature: a deity orders the chaos of the basic elements and creates the world of his own free will over a period of 12,000 years. C. Afterlife The E. believed in a life after death and therefore sought to immortalize the image and name of the deceased in painting and inscription: the corpse was buried, together with domestic equipment, in a specially constructed dwelling, the grave; if the corpse was cremated, the remains were stored in anthropomorphic vessels (canopi of Chiusi 8 ) or house urns. E. funerary architecture and wall paintings indicate the existence of two different and probably not contemporaneously developed concepts: according to one, the immaterial parr, the soul, lived on in the grave; according to the other, it undertook a journey into the afterlife. Important traces of the Dionysus-cult (ETTa 1. 184 and many others; Liv. 39,3-19) indicate the existence of a religion of mysteries. In the Imperial period an E. doctrine of salvation presaged a deification of the soul through special rites (Arnob. 2,62); whether Orphic-Pythagorean or Christian influence played a part in that doctrine is an open question for the time being. Several images from the 6th cent. BC show deceased people travelling to the afterlife on a seahorse or a bird (Tarquinia, Tomba dei Tori, around 550 120). Originally the object of the journey was probably Elysium or the Islands of the Blessed; this Ancient Oriental belief was in the same way familiar to Greek eschatology (Horn. Od. 4,561-8). In the 2nd half of the 6th cent, the belief emerged that the deceased journeyed to the kingdom of the dead on foot, on horse, or on a wagon; demons brought him down from the earth or waited for him at the gate to the Underworld pi. CXXVII a;b. Here a large number of demons (Charu, Thuchulcha) and demonesses (Vanθ) 9 were at work, inducting the deceased; their ugly but still human appearance was regarded as a tangible expression of the fear of death and of the pain of those left behind 4. Greek and western Greek influence in southern Etruria grew stronger from the second half of the 5th cent. (Vulci, Tomba Francois,around 330; Tarquinia, Tomba dell' Oreo II, 3rd cent. no. 178,94). In the Underworld there then were to be found Aita (-Hades) and Φersipnai (-Persephone) (Orvieto, Tomba Golini II, middle of the 4th cent. BC I5. no. 33]); the Greek contribution to this belief might have been superficial though, as the rulers of the E. Underworld bore distinctly non-Greek features. Even in other respects the doctrine of afterlife continues to convey an unmistakable E. content even if figures in the E. afterlife are characterized by Greek stylistic elements (Vanθ-representation in the grave of Anina, Tarquinia, 280-150 BC (5. no.40]). D. Rituals Prayer and sacrifice: the formally meticulous ritual recorded on the bindings of the Zagreb mummy provides for a large number ofsacrifices of wine and bread, as well as prayers, on certain days of the month, for specific gods who are mentioned by name. E. rituals for founding cities were adopted by Rome (Liv. 1,44, 2ff.). Types of divination (genera divinandi) Divination imparted through signs, based on testimony and a theory (divinatio artificiosa, posita in monumentis ei disciplina) Divination not imparted through signs (divinatio naturalis) Roman divination literature Sibylline Books (libri Sibyllini) Books of the Romans Books of the Etruscans (Etruscorum libri) Books about the inspection of viscera (libri haruspicini) Books about divination from lightning (libri fulgurates) Books on ritual (libri rituales) Acherontic Books (libri Acherontici) Books of Fate (libri fatales) Collections of signs (with comments) (ostentaria) e.g. the collection of tree signs (ostentarium arborarium) by Tarquitius Priscus The Etrusca disciplina in the context of the Roman system of divination The books of the Etruscans were transmitted as part of the Roman literature on divination. Its tripartitation into Sybilline books, books of the Romans and books of the Etruscans reflected the tripartition of the Roman system of religion into Graecus ritus (Greek rite), patrius ritus (indigenous rite) and Etrusca disciplina (Etruscan discipline). M. HAA. Common E. cult ceremonies were supposed to have taken place on a periodic basis (Liv. 5,1). The annual ceremony of hammering the nail to mark the passing of the year took place in the Nortia sanctuary of Volsinii. Of the E. Bacchanalia we know scarcely any more than the fact of its existence as attested by Livy (39,9,iff.). Magical rites are also to be included among their practices 1: magical lightning (Sen. Q Nat. 2,33; Plin. HN 2,54,140), likewise talismans and amulets for using or warding off supernatural powers: the metal caps that had a positive effect {bullae, Juv. 1,5,164; Macrob. Sat.1,6,9), as well as lead tablets, with the text of curses, that had a negative effect (ET Vt 4.1 and many more). The netovis, Latin haruspex (ET Um 1.7; Cic. Div. 1,14,24; 2,53,109; → haruspices) was guardian of the Etrusca disciplina, soothsayer, celebrant of cult activities, and thus executor of the will of the gods. The trutnvt, Latin fulgur(i)ator (ET Um 1.7; Cic. Div. 2,53,109) wasresponsible for interpreting lightning. There were other priestly offices as well (maru, cepen: ET s.v.); Livy(5,1,5) mentions a sacerdos. Unusual Latin terms for priests (CIL XI 1 848 in Arretium) are probably translations of E. priestly offices. As well as the liturgical accessories for the cult site (incense burners, crozier, sacrificial axe and knives), cult statues should be mentioned; difficult todistinguish in a formal sense from votive statues of gods, they are nevertheless amply attested in literature: e.g. in the liber linteus zagrabien- sis, a calendar-based ritual text from the bindings on the Zagreb mummy mentioned above (middle of the 2nd cent.; ET I.). We do not know when the E. authors composed the written text of theEtrusca disciplina attributed to Tages (Cic. Div. 2,23,50). There were probably original versions in individual cities (Cic. Div. 1,44,100). The corpus contained the teaching on the reading ofentrails {libri haruspicini: Cic. Div. 1,33,72) and the interpretation of lightning (libri fulgurates: Cic. ibid.), as well as procedures for founding cities, dedicating sanctuaries and dividing up fields (libri rituales: Cic. ibid.). The ritual books included the doctrine on the afterlife (libri acheruntici: Arnob. 2,62; Serv. Aen. 8,398,20) and the interpretation of miracles (ostentaria: Macrob. Sat. 3 ,7,2). According to E. belief, the gods express their will through signs (Cic. Har. resp. 10,20). The highest duty of the E. priesthood was to determine from which god the sign came, for what purpose the god sent it, what the sign meant and, if negative, how it could be expiated (Cic. Cat. 3,8,19). An essential precondition was the careful and deliberate observation of divine signs visible in the lightning bolts shot by nine of the gods (Plin. HN 2,51,137^; Sen. Q Nat. i,4of.), and as revealed in the livers of sacrificed animals (ES CCXXIII) and other omens. Observation of weather signs underwent a 'scientific' elaboration in Etruria and was more highly esteemed than haruspicy (Sen. Q Nat. i,33f.). Ornithoscopy was likewise known in Etruria but less widespread than in Rome and among the Umbrians. Interpreting the future was bound up with the belief that the heavens were divided into 16 precisely defined regions (Cic. Div. 2,18,41; Plin. HN 2,5 5,143), in which the gods had their seat from whichthey sent signs to mankind to express their will (Fest. 454 L.;Mart. Cap. 1,4 iff.). Division of the heavens was then conceptually translated to the earth and the liver (cf. the bronze liver of Piacenza): deviations from the norm, in heaven, in the liver or on the earth, signified that the god residing in the corresponding region of heaven was now revealing himself. The E. religion was not confined to Etruria. Some practices were adopted by Roman cult, though they generally underwent substantial internal change. In Rome the interpretation of lightning, liver and prodigies remained in the hands of E. haruspices (Dion. Hal. 4,59-61; Cic. Har. resp. 9,18), who were brought from Etruria expressly for this purpose (Cic. Cat. 3,19). The Roman state took care not to let the doctrine of → haruspices, as Etrusca disciplina (→ Divination VII) part of official Roman religion (Cic. Div. 1,41,92; Tac. Ann. 11,15), disappear. It had a resurgence under Emperor Alexander Severus (HA Alex.27,6). Emperor Constantine was the first to interfere seriously with the activities of the haruspices (Cod. Theod. 9,16,1) but he was not able to eliminate them completely. The last reference to haruspices appeared in AD 408 (Zos. 5,41); E. soothsayers were mentioned as late as Procopius (BG 8, 21, 16). → Etruscology; → Tarquitius Priscus I Pfiffig, nff. 2 I.Krauskopf, s.v. Apollon/Aplu, LIMC z.i, 3 3 5 f f . 3 H.Rix, Rapporti onomastici fra il panteon etrusco e queilo romano, in: Gli Etruschi e Roma, Arti in onore di M. Pallotino, 1981, 104ft. 4 M.Pall- OTTiNO, Etruskologie. Gesch. und Kultur der Etrusker, 1988, 310 5 S.Steingraber, Etr. Wandmalerei, 1985 6G.K0RTE, I rilievi delle urne etrusche. Ill, 1916 7 G. Colonna, s.v. Athena/Menerva, LIMC 2.1, ic>5off.; io66ff. 8R.Gempeler, Die etr. Kanopen, 1974 9 I.Krauskopf, Todesdamonen und Totengotter im vor- hell. Etrurien, Biblioteca di studi etruschi 16, 1987. 10 E.Gerhard, G.KOrte, Etr. Spiegel, 1 884-1 897 (= ES) II L.Maggiani, Wiss. und Rel., in: M.Cristofani (ed.), Die Etrusker, 1995, 136 ff 12 H.Rix, G.Meiser et al., Etr. Texte I — II, Scripta Oralia 13 A 6, 1991 (= ET) 13 E. Simon, Etr. Kultgottheiten, in: M.Cristofani (ed.), Die Etrusker, 1995, 151ft. 14 CO. Thulin, Die etr. Disziplin, I — III, 1905-1909. Fig.-Bibliography: Ancient Sources: Cic. Div. I; A. Bouche-Leclercq, Histoire de la divination dans I'antiquite IV: Divination italique, 1881, 3-1 15; C. Thulin, Die Etr. Disciplin I — III, 1 905-1909, repr. 1968, especially I, i-iz; H.Cancik, Libri fatales. Rom. Offenbarungslit. und Geschichtstheologie, in: D.Hellholm (ed.), Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East, conf. Uppsala 1979, 1983, 549-576; C. Guittard, Contribution des sources litteraires a notre connaissance de I'Etrusca disciplina: Tarquitius Priscus et les arbores infe- lices, in: H. Heres, M. Kunze (ed.), Die Welt der Etrusker, colloquium Berlin 1988, 91-99. L. A. F. IV. Language → Etruscan